PKE Key Fob

[clydeyb]

Hi,
Just curious to see if others have the same suspicions. When I bought my Vette it only came with two sets of keys, no PKE Key Fob so I purchased a used one on Ebay. When I got it it didn't work so I got a refund and bought a brand new one. Got it programmed it, worked fine for about a week or so and also appeared to have died. I also noticed most C4 Vette owners don't use or have the Fobs. My question is does anyone think the whole PKE system on these cars are less than reliable and is there something that are cause or could be causing the Key Fobs to go bad. I find it unusual that it would go bad so quickly and so many car owners don't have or use them. It is really a nice feature. Just wondering if many people have had this type of bad experience or is there something that coul;d be making the Fobs go bad prematurely? I returned this bad one and ordered an extra but have received them yet. I am hoping it truly is just the Fob randomly went bad. Any thoughts or comments?

 

[G Winter]

I am loosing faith in any GM remote lock and or start system.
I have had a few and none have ever worked very long.I have an 06 Grand Prix and it already is failing, dealer said the unit on the car needs to be replaced. ad
The best working remote system I ever had was a cheap Bulldog security unit.

Glenn

 

[gmjunkie]

Hi,
Just curious to see if others have the same suspicions. When I bought my Vette it only came with two sets of keys, no PKE Key Fob so I purchased a used one on Ebay. When I got it it didn't work so I got a refund and bought a brand new one. Got it programmed it, worked fine for about a week or so and also appeared to have died. I also noticed most C4 Vette owners don't use or have the Fobs. My question is does anyone think the whole PKE system on these cars are less than reliable and is there something that are cause or could be causing the Key Fobs to go bad. I find it unusual that it would go bad so quickly and so many car owners don't have or use them. It is really a nice feature. Just wondering if many people have had this type of bad experience or is there something that coul;d be making the Fobs go bad prematurely? I returned this bad one and ordered an extra but have received them yet. I am hoping it truly is just the Fob randomly went bad. Any thoughts or comments?

I've never had a problem with any of the keyless entries that GM produces,other than occasional battery replacement!! My 03 is 5 years old next week and I've never even had to replace the battery's yet in ether of the fobs!!All the C4's that I've had for resale I never had 1 problem with other than I did have to replace a battery once!!

 

[clydeyb]

I was thinking about my problem and it occurred to me I carry a magnetic money clip (magnet is on the strong side because of all the money I carry; :L ) in my pocket. I am going to make sure the Fob does get near the magnetic money clip? It might also just have been a random failure.

 

[Paul Higg]

I have never had a problem with mine. It is the least understood item on a Vette. It is also the number one reason Vette owners bring their cars in to the dealers.

I don't know if you know this but the door button NEVER gets pressed, only the coupe. If you press and hold the door button from the outside you can actually program it to open the doors as if you were doing it inside the car. They work like this. Three modes. Just driver's door opens, just passenger door opens, or both doors open.

PM me if you need any help with it. Also, a lot of people do not know this dirty little secret. When you buy a new one the battery is installed upside down to prevent drain.

As I first indicated, I have never, not once had a problem with it. It just takes a lot of learning how the system works.

Paul

 

[Paul Higg]

One more thing, magnetism has NOTHING to do with it. It works by radio freq's. It will NOT work sometimes if near cell towers, because the cell freq steps on the FOB freq. The antenna is located in the driver's door. Do you have an FSM, factory service manual? If not, I can help.

Paul

 

[air1jpg]

Also, be careful not to drop the fob too many times, mine stopped working and found the battery holder was cracked. Is it possiable for the battery to not last a year?

 

[Paul Higg]

Yes, especially if you carry it around with you in your pocket. Every time that little ball in the FOB rattles around it sends out it's freq. So that is a battery drain. One good thing about it though is that if you leave the keys in the car, say on the seat, and the doors lock automatically, all you gotta do is rock the car to make the little ball move and it will unlock. All in the manual and the FSM.

Paul

PS Happy New Year to all!

 

[clydeyb]

Hi Paul, I am sorry but I don't understand what you mean by " the door button NEVER gets pressed, only the coupe. If you press and hold the door button from the outside you can actually program it to open the doors as if you were doing it inside the car. They work like this. Three modes. Just driver's door opens, just passenger door opens, or both doors open."

What do you mean "the door button never gets pressed, just the coupe?" Do you mean don't press the door button on the fob once its programmed? By coupe do mean the hatch? And when you say " if you press and hold the door button from the outside" you mean hold the door button on the fob toprogram the fob to open just the drivers door, etc? How do you do that process and do you think it is better? Sounds like to me it might be. Please clearify.
Thanks in advance

 

[gmjunkie]

I think what he means is that you don't have to press lock or unlock,you can program it to lock doors or unlock doors,lock automatically as you walk away or un-lock automatically as you walk up to the car as long as you have the fob on you!!

All I ever use the fob for is to release the hatch or to PUSH the "Panic Button" to scare the hell out of somebody or a Dog Piss'n on my wheels!!

 

[clydeyb]

Just received and programmed both new fobs and they work great. Now, if I just wanted to use the lock / unlock doors buttons method instead of the automatic lock / unlock, what would I have to do to get the system in that mode?

 

[Paul Higg]

Going back a few threads. What I meant was you never have to press the button to open the doors. You wave the FOB at the car and it unlocks it.

"Now, if I just wanted to use the lock / unlock doors buttons method instead of the automatic lock / unlock, what would I have to do to get the system in that mode?"

It does not work that way. The FOB is waved near the car and the doors open. They lock when you walk away with the FOB. I am not sure what you are asking but if I have it correctly, what you seem to be asking is how to program it? You can stand outside the car, press and hold the door button and the doors will cycle lock then unlock. Press it again and it goes into the next mode and again the third.

Basically what I am saying is the door button on the FOB does not EVER need to be pressed unless you are programming it. Like I said, it is poorly documented and the least understood system.

Paul

 

[gmjunkie]

Going back a few threads. What I meant was you never have to press the button to open the doors. You wave the FOB at the car and it unlocks it.

"Now, if I just wanted to use the lock / unlock doors buttons method instead of the automatic lock / unlock, what would I have to do to get the system in that mode?"

It does not work that way. The FOB is waved near the car and the doors open. They lock when you walk away with the FOB. I am not sure what you are asking but if I have it correctly, what you seem to be asking is how to program it? You can stand outside the car, press and hold the door button and the doors will cycle lock then unlock. Press it again and it goes into the next mode and again the third.

Basically what I am saying is the door button on the FOB does not EVER need to be pressed unless you are programming it. Like I said, it is poorly documented and the least understood system.

Paul

Paul,I'm purdy sure it can be programed to not be passive entry and use the buttons!! I just don't have a owners manual around here at the moment to look at,But it should be in the owners manual!!

 

[Paul Higg]

It ain't, at least not in mine, OR my FSM.

Hey, did you get my message about what we talked about the other day? ALL wholesalers here.
ad

 

[clydeyb]

I was asking exactly what gmjunkie was refering to. Can the PKE system be put in a mode where you only use the buttons to lock and unlock the doors (not automatically) the system not in the passive mode, use the buttons only? What I am hearing is the door button on the fob is only used for going thru the programming modes, unlock drivers door only, unlock passengers door only?? (kind of an unusual mode) and unlock both doors upon waiving the fob near the drivers door. Is this right?

 

[Paul Higg]

Nope, it is my understanding that when waving it at the car you can have one of three things happen:

1) Driver's only door will unlock.
2) Passenger only door will unlock.
3) Both doors will unlock.

I have read a lot about it and looked in the FSM and used a LOT of trial and error testing. I have NEVER seen it work like a regular, "normal" car's FOB. What I HAVE seen is the door button is used for programming it inside and outside of the car. Nothing else. If someone has a different experience or can show me some documentation on it I will stand corrected.

Paul

 

[Rabbit]

I was asking what gmjunkie was refering to. Can the PKE system be put in a mode where you only use the buttons to lock and unlock the doors (not automatically) the system in the passive mode, use the buttons only? What I am hearing is the door button on the fob is only used for going thru the programming modes, unlock drivers door only, unlock passengers door only?? (kind of an unusual mode) and unlock both doors upon waiving the fob near the drivers door. Is this right?

The door button on the fob (coupe) has 3 functions.

1. To activate/deactivate the passive entry system.

2. When the system is not active the door button , when pressed, will open the pass/door ONLY, it will not open the driver's door.


# With the key in the ignition, not turned on, the door button will select which doors the system will open when active.

I think that's the way I read it. Mine works that way & has for 13 year.

This is for a 95 coupe. If I'm off base please correct me!

 

[Red Vette]

I have used my 2 fobs without problems, except for battery replacement. I did purchase rubberized cases that fit around the fob to protect it if dropped. I purchased them from Southern Car Parts I believe several years ago. The Owners manual should give you all the info on the operation of the fob. I believe someone even posted all of the directions on the CAC, do a search. Personally I like the fob, but LT4Man had an experience with his last June that got him the Road Warrior trophy at the Cleveland CF. His advice, don't leave it locked in the car with the understanding that it will unlock the doors when the vette is shaken. But this was not a fob malfunction. I carry a spare key just in case.
Barrett

 

[Toms007]

I was going to say that I have been locked out of my 94 three times with the key in the ignition....even though the owners manual says it won't do that. And I wasn't going to mention Gregorys' (LT4man) little problem, but it was very similar to what had happened to me....except mine was sitting in my garage with the other set of keys in the house.